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[IbizaPocholo]

Cyberpunk 2077 Dev Talks Multiplayer, Censorship, And More

Q&A: We speak with the head of CD Projekt Red's Krakow studio about a number of hot topics surrounding the much-anticipated PS4, Xbox One, and PC game.

www.gamespot.com

In Melbourne was CD Projekt Red's John Mamais, the head of the company's Krakow office. The studio is creating about one-third of the content for Cyberpunk 2077, while it also developed the game's new cutscene technology and other aspects of the title. GameSpot spoke with Mamais--who has been with CDPR since 2011 when he was a producer on The Witcher 2--and he told us more about local issues like potential censorship from Australia's Classification Board, mutiplayer support for Cyberpunk 2077, and the possibility of a Nintendo Switch port.

On Multiplayer In Cyberpunk 2077
It's public knowledge that we want to make multiple AAA titles at the same time in the company. We haven't been able to but now we're growing to a certain extent and we might be able to do that in the future; at least we hope so.
We'll see how well Cyberpunk does. It's not for me to say what they'll be. I can tell you what I hope they'll be. I like Cyberpunk, I'd like to keep making Cyberpunk games. I also like The Witcher, I'd like to keep making Witcher-type games. It could be anything. Some new IP or some licensed IP. Who knows? It's not decided yet.

On Microtransactions
I think it's a bad idea to do microtransactions after you release a game. It seems like it's very profitable, though. It's probably a hard decision for the guy that runs the business to decide if we should do it or not. But if everyone hates it, why would we do something like that and lose the goodwill of our customers?

On Post-Release Plans For Cyberpunk 2077
[The Witcher 3's free DLC with big paid expansions] was a good model for us; it worked pretty well for The Witcher 3. I don't see why we wouldn't try to replicate that model with Cyberpunk 2077. We're not talking about that yet, but it seems like that would be the smart way to go.

On The Power Of New Consoles
It's going to be awesome. It's always cool to have new consoles coming out and I can't wait to work on those things. We'll see what we can do with those. It's fun watching games evolve; they're looking more and more realistic, which is--I like working on games like that. The more powerful the technology, or the consoles, the more it is [good] for me as a game developer.

On A Possible Switch Port Of Cyberpunk 2077
Who would have thought a game like The Witcher 3 would be possible on Switch, so who knows? I guess we'll see, if we `decide to put it on the Switch, if we can do it. Probably not.

On If There Will There Be Multiplayer Support For Cyberpunk 2077 At Launch
No

Check the link for more.

 

[Heinrich]

Switch Port Possibility --> Probably not.

Why the clickbait OP?

 

[Piku_Ringo]

If they follow the TW3 model with any dlc/expansion packs, I'm all fucking in baby!

 

[NiiloPielinen]

That "Microtransactions" word gave me a scare.

 

[Xaero Gravity]

I'm sorry if this upsets Switch only owners or makes me come off like a complete asshole, but I really hope that this isn't a game that's possible on the Switch. The fact that it's being held back by current gen consoles right before the start of a new gen is frustrating enough, the last thing I'd want is for the game's overall scope and ambition to be tethered to a jack of all trades/master of none type console like the Switch.

 

[Pallas]

That brings some good confidence about micro transactions bd the model of Witcher 3 was a good one involving dlc.

I’d be very, very, super crazy surprised if they can get a playable version of that game on Switch.

 

[KiteGr]

Besides perhaps the expansions plan, there is nothing here we didn't already know.
Moving on...

 

[Spukc]

I'm sorry if this upsets Switch only owners or makes me come off like a complete asshole, but I really hope that this isn't a game that's possible on the Switch. The fact that it's being held back by current gen consoles right before the start of a new gen is frustrating enough, the last thing I'd want is for the game's overall scope and ambition to be tethered to a jack of all trades/master of none type console like the Switch.

You def come off like a complete asshole
Witcher 3 wasn't made for the switch.

Who the hell wants people NOT to have ports?
Nobody is forcing you to buy the switch port

 

[Nobody_Important]

On Microtransactions
I think it's a bad idea to do microtransactions after you release a game. It seems like it's very profitable, though. It's probably a hard decision for the guy that runs the business to decide if we should do it or not. But if everyone hates it, why would we do something like that and lose the goodwill of our customers?

 

[Xaero Gravity]

You def come off like a complete asshole
Witcher 3 wasn't made for the switch.

Who the hell wants people NOT to have ports?
Nobody is forcing you to buy the switch port

Oh God it's you.

Ok look, I get that reading comprehension isn't your strong suit and that someone saying anything even slightly negative about the Switch is enough to bring you to tears and have you start insulting them, as evidenced by your activity in other Switch threads, but I laid out my reason as to why I'd rather the game not be held back by the Switch. I'm sorry if that offends or hurts you in any way, but take it or leave it.

Have a nice night.

 

[Spukc]

Oh God it's you.

Ok look, I get that reading comprehension isn't your strong suit and that someone saying anything even slightly negative about the Switch is enough to bring you to tears and have you start insulting them, as evidenced by your activity in other Switch threads, but I laid out my reason as to why I'd rather the game not be held back by the Switch. I'm sorry if that offends or hurts you in any way, but take it or leave it.

Have a nice night.

"makes me come off like a complete asshole"

I was just stating what you feared?


"The fact that it's being held back by current gen consoles right before the start of a new gen is frustrating enough, the last thing I'd want is for the game's overall scope and ambition to be tethered to a jack of all trades/master of none type console like the Switch."

Def not shit posting.
Please don't port the game to other consoles devs.
I want the game to be good not shit.

 

[Nobody_Important]

I'm sorry if this upsets Switch only owners or makes me come off like a complete asshole, but I really hope that this isn't a game that's possible on the Switch. The fact that it's being held back by current gen consoles right before the start of a new gen is frustrating enough, the last thing I'd want is for the game's overall scope and ambition to be tethered to a jack of all trades/master of none type console like the Switch.

I hate to agree with this because as a console gamer primarily I generally support the concept of console ports because more games is always a good thing. But in the case of the Switch I just cannot get behind it. Don't get me wrong I like the Switch for what it is. Its a great little piece of tech that performs as advertised. But I am afraid that as the Switch becomes more popular Publishers will want to be able to cash in on its popularity and ship their games to the Switch as well as the current versions of the PS and the Xbox. And for right now that is fine. Most games could be ported to the Switch without much issue, but in a year or so that will no longer be possible with the next gen consoles finally arriving.


Which means that Publishers will either need to dramatically downgrade games in order to make them work on the Switch, intentionally limit the scope of games so they don't need to be downgraded at all, or they will just leave money on the table. And considering how greedy publishers like Ubisoft, Activision, and EA are I highly doubt the last option will even be considered. Which only leaves us the first two options. And Devs are not going to like either of those. Nobody wants to see the thing they busted their ass for turn into a watered down version of itself just so they can sell more copies. At the same time no Dev wants to be told that they have to limit their creativity in order to accommodate a less powerful device. So I am interested to see whats gonna happen with Switch ports as the next gen consoles finally arrive. Are they gonna be watered down versions of the games available on PC, Xbox and PS? Will Devs be forced to limit the scopes of their games? Or will the Switch just not see as many ports as its getting right now? My money (and my hope) is on the last option to be honest. because the other two options are way worse in my opinion.


Though there is also the slim possibility that Nintendo does a "Pro" version of the Switch sometime relatively soon that would allow it to kind of keep up with the changing times.

 

[Xaero Gravity]

"makes me come off like a complete asshole"

I was just stating what you feared?


"The fact that it's being held back by current gen consoles right before the start of a new gen is frustrating enough, the last thing I'd want is for the game's overall scope and ambition to be tethered to a jack of all trades/master of none type console like the Switch."

Def not shit posting.
Please don't port the game to other consoles devs.
I want the game to be good not shit.

As in, it's not ideal as a home console due to the hardware limitations and it's not ideal as a portable due to the form factor. It's a hybrid that in my opinion is hampered by trying to be two things at once. Again In. My. Fucking. Opinion.

 

[PocoJoe]

You def come off like a complete asshole
Witcher 3 wasn't made for the switch.

Who the hell wants people NOT to have ports?
Nobody is forcing you to buy the switch port

"makes me come off like a complete asshole"

I was just stating what you feared?


"The fact that it's being held back by current gen consoles right before the start of a new gen is frustrating enough, the last thing I'd want is for the game's overall scope and ambition to be tethered to a jack of all trades/master of none type console like the Switch."

Def not shit posting.
Please don't port the game to other consoles devs.
I want the game to be good not shit.

Well isn't it obvious that Witcher 3 wasn't made switch in their mind when it were released before switch were even out?

Maybe you didn't get his point?

He meant that IF they would consider to port it for super weak console like switch in the future, it COULD affect some parts of their plans. Like limiting area sizes and so on.

And he is right, Switch is damn shitty home console, really weak and limits modern games in many ways that makes them worse games than they could be. In the same time it is ok handheld, but could be better handheld too, as being hybrid it sacrifices some handheld features too.

Have you played Witcher 3 on switch? I have and it is just barely even playable. Resolution is so bad that it just looks stupidly soft, details are lower than low. And reason is that switch is too slow for most modern, or not even that modern games. Graphics arent everything, but if game is designed to look good to as part of the experience, it kind of ruins it.

Switch is good for old games like doom 3/ghostbusters. They look great as they are not that demanding, and it is much easier to forgive the old graphics as they are at least sharp and don't look like some one deleted 80% of assets to make it work.

switch on docked mode is basically PS3/360 with some new features, so making modern games with that in their mind could possibly make many compromises vs purely made for ps4/one

 

[Xaero Gravity]

I hate to agree with this because as a console gamer primarily I generally support the concept of console ports because more games is always a good thing. But in the case of the Switch I just cannot get behind it. Don't get me wrong I like the Switch for what it is. Its a great little piece of tech that performs as advertised. But I am afraid that as the Switch becomes more popular Publishers will want to be able to cash in on its popularity and ship their games to the Switch as well as the current versions of the PS and the Xbox. And for right now that is fine. Most games could be ported to the Switch without much issue, but in a year or so that will no longer be possible with the next gen consoles finally arriving.


Which means that Publishers will either need to dramatically downgrade games in order to make them work on the Switch, intentionally limit the scope of games so they don't need to be downgraded at all, or they will just leave money on the table. And considering how greedy publishers like Ubisoft, Activision, and EA are I highly doubt the last option will even be considered. Which only leaves us the first two options. And Devs are not going to like either of those. Nobody wants to see the thing they busted their ass for turn into a watered down version of itself just so they can sell more copies. At the same time no Dev wants to be told that they have to limit their creativity in order to accommodate a less powerful device. So I am interested to see whats gonna happen with Switch ports as the next gen consoles finally arrive. Are they gonna be watered down versions of the games available on PC, Xbox and PS? Will Devs be forced to limit the scopes of their games? Or will the Switch just not see as many ports as its getting right now? My money (and my hope) is on the last option to be honest. because the other two options are way worse in my opinion.


Though there is also the slim possibility that Nintendo does a "Pro" version of the Switch sometime relatively soon that would allow it to kind of keep up with the changing times.

If Nintendo hasn't released a more powerful model of the Switch by the time next gen is starting to get games designed for that gen, then I'd rather see publishers and developers put more of a focus on either spin offs or versions of the next game games in question built specifically for the Switch, much like Ghostbusters was handled on the Wii.

 

[Spukc]

People that don't understand how insane it is that witcher 3 runs on a 6 watts handheld.

This has to be the most talented programming we had in years

No shit a 245 watts xbox one x is better looking.
But still i love having

Skyrim
Diablo 3
Overwatch
Doom 2016
Dragon quest 11
Witcher 3

On the go.

Wishing ports not to be on a certain console is childish as hell.

Who the hell cares?
More ports = more money = more chance for better support of your favorite game.

I am fine with ports coming to switch
And i like supporting the devs by double dipping on the switch ports.
And it seems many other people do too.
Cause we keep getting those ports.

 

[Mista]

You def come off like a complete asshole
Witcher 3 wasn't made for the switch.

Who the hell wants people NOT to have ports?
Nobody is forcing you to buy the switch port

Xaero got a point though. He’s not against ports, but against ports that are no good and will only hold back the team. 100% understandable

 

[MilkyJoe]

Switch Port Possibility --> Probably not.

Why the clickbait OP?

Did you really expect it?

 

[Xaero Gravity]

Imagine if The Witcher 3 had been developed with the Wii U in mind alongside the XB1/PS4/PC versions. They would have had to scale the game back tremendously due to the gap in hardware specs. That's the kind of thing I want to avoid with ports on next gen consoles.

Now with Cyberpunk 2077 being released in it's current state on modern consoles, it shouldn't have that problem, but at the same time I'm hoping it pushes these current gen consoles to their absolute limits and thus CDPR can build the expansions around more powerful hardware with the inevitable next gen ports.

 

[Spukc]

Xaero got a point though. He’s not against ports, but against ports that are no good and will only hold back the team. 100% understandable

Stating that more ports will hold back the team is just silly.
I heard this a couple of times.
You really think they will gimp the console versions to release it on switch?

I find that hard to believe.
If it ever gets ported to the switch cause everyone loves that switch port money.
It would prolly take as long as it did for witcher 3 to come out on it.
I am still waiting for that gta5 port on the switch.

 

[Nobody_Important]

Stating that more ports will hold back the team is just silly.
I heard this a couple of times.
You really think they will gimp the console versions to release it on switch?

Let me turn this question around on you a little bit.


You really think Publishers would let something like artistic vision get in the way of higher profit margins?

 

[Spukc]

Let me turn this question around on you a little bit.


You really think Publishers would let something like artistic vision get in the way of higher profit margins?

I don't get it.
Them taking out features from xbox one x vs ps4 pro. I get, not to anger the console makers.
Heck if anything consoles have been gimping the full potential of pc gamers for years now.

But for switch? That's on a complete different market imo. Esp when all the ports i stated earlier, came out way way later.

 

[Romulus]

People that don't understand how insane it is that witcher 3 runs on a 6 watts handheld.

This has to be the most talented programming we had in years

No shit a 245 watts xbox one x is better looking.
But still i love having

Skyrim
Diablo 3
Overwatch
Doom 2016
Dragon quest 11
Witcher 3

On the go.

Wishing ports not to be on a certain console is childish as hell.

Who the hell cares?
More ports = more money = more chance for better support of your favorite game.

I am fine with ports coming to switch
And i like supporting the devs by double dipping on the switch ports.
And it seems many other people do too.
Cause we keep getting those ports.

What's up with the power consumption flexing? Lol. Just because no one else is competing with Switch on the handheld side, doesn't make it that great. There's no modern competition for a comparison.

I don't think those games are impressive either considering how blurry and low performing most are. Hell I'd be shocked if they didn't run at that. They should run on a more modern gaming device, regardless if its handheld.
What people actually fail to realize is ps4/xb1 were underpowered day 1 more than last gen. 360 was an absolute beast on day 1. But even then, standard ps4 has a garbage CPU from 10 years ago and still looks drastically better than Switch though.

 

[Tesseract]

no multiplayer at launch means i'll probably wait for a price cut

maybe not, we'll see if the mechanics ever get there (right now the shooting and movement looks like shit)

 

[Stuart360]

What's up with the power consumption flexing? Lol. Just because no one else is competing with Switch on the handheld side, doesn't make it that great. There's no modern competition for a comparison.

I don't think those games are impressive either considering how blurry and low performing most are. Hell I'd be shocked if they didn't run at that. They should run on a more modern gaming device, regardless if its handheld.
What people actually fail to realize is ps4/xb1 were underpowered day 1 more than last gen. 360 was an absolute beast on day 1. But even then, standard ps4 has a garbage CPU from 10 years ago and still looks drastically better than Switch though.

Yeah i agree, and i really dont get it. In fact i posted this in the Switch Resi 5 and 6 thread and it certainly matches how i feel about any potential Switch port of Cyberpunk -

I'm currently playing Resi 6 at 4k/60fps on my PC (really liking the game by the way. About 3/4 through Leons campaign. The game doesnt deserve the hate imo). Does being able to play 'on the go' really mean that much to some of you that you would suffer through these terrible versions of games on the Switch?, and i'm not just talking about these ports either.

 

[GV82]

Why would a 1st person game Not come to the Switch? I mean the Switch has quite a few of them now and cdpr will get it running better than Wolfenstein did on the Switch.

It’s not like CDPR have made a game much more complicated than Doom 2016 but with dialogue choices and bigger maps, a lot of compression & a big compliment download alongside the biggest cartridge available they’ll be fine, now Witcher on the other hand is confusing to me.

 

[notoccupanther]

Good interview with Laymen Gaming if you've not seen it

 

[The Scrivener]

CTRL F "gender"

Well, colour me surprised!

 

[Tesseract]

Why would a 1st person game Not come to the Switch? I mean the Switch has quite a few of them now and cdpr will get it running better than Wolfenstein did on the Switch.

It’s not like CDPR have made a game much more complicated than Doom 2016 but with dialogue choices and bigger maps, a lot of compression & a big compliment download alongside the biggest cartridge available they’ll be fine, now Witcher on the other hand is confusing to me.

i don't think the renderer could run on switch